1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism for switching the airflow mode of an air blower/vacuum, which is used for gathering or dispersing dust and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known an air blower/vacuum capable of generating a vacuum force for gathering dust, trash, and the like, and an air jet for dispersing dust.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an air blower/vacuum 50 described in International Publication WO97/30620. The air blower/vacuum 50 includes an electric motor 51, a fan 52, a vacuum nozzle 53, and a blower nozzle 54. The electric motor 51 drives the fan 52 to rotate and generate an airflow. The vacuum nozzle 53 serves as a vacuum pathway provided upstream, with respect to direction of the airflow, from the fan 52. The blower nozzle 54 serves as a blower pathway provided downstream, with respect to direction of the air flow, from the fan 52. The vacuum nozzle 53 and the blower nozzle 54 are disposed one on top of the other within a nozzle 55 and extend in parallel with each other and the nozzle 55 in the front-to-rear direction of the air blower/vacuum 50. The fan 52 is provided at the rear-side end of the vacuum nozzle 53. The face of the fan 52 is disposed in confrontation with the rear-side end of the vacuum pathway.
The air blower/vacuum 50 further includes a switching unit 56 with a knob 57. By rotating the knob 57, the airflow from the fan 52 can be selectively guided in the direction of either a dust nozzle 59, which connects with a dust bag 58, or the blower nozzle 54.
In this way, the air blower/vacuum 50 can be switched to vacuum or blow air by merely rotating a knob. It is easy to operate because no exchange of parts is required to switch between vacuuming and blowing operations.
However, the configuration described in International Publication WO97/30620 requires a special switching unit provided in the housing for switching the airflow mode. It is not suitable for use in compact air blower/vacuums, because the special switching unit would increase the size of the air blower/vacuum. Also, it requires extra components and so would increase the cost of the air blower/vacuum.
It is an objective of the present invention to overcome the above-described problems and to provide a mechanism for switching airflow mode of an air blower/vacuum that enables easily switching the air blower/vacuum between a vacuum mode and a blower mode, that is suitable for a compact air blower/vacuum, and that enables configuring an air blower/vacuum with few components.
To achieve the above-described objective, a mechanism according to the present invention is for switching mode of an air blower/vacuum that includes a fan for generating a flow of air. The mechanism includes a nozzle and a main body. The main body houses the fan and is provided with a vacuum pathway and a blower pathway. The vacuum pathway is located upstream from the fan with respect to the flow of air and the blower pathway is located downstream from the fan with respect to the flow of air. The main body supports the nozzle movable with respect to the main body. A pathway formed in the nozzle is switched between fluid communication with the vacuum pathway and fluid communication with the blower pathway by moving the nozzle with respect to the main body.
With this configuration, the air blower/vacuum can be switched between its vacuum mode and its blower mode by merely moving the nozzle with respect to the main body. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate mode switching unit. For this reason, fewer components are required to produce the air blower/vacuum so that production costs can be decreased. Also, the air blower/vacuum can be easily produced in a compact shape.
An air blower/vacuum according to the present invention includes a nozzle, a fan, and a main body. The main body is formed with a vacuum pathway and a blower pathway, located upstream and downstream, respectively, from the fan with respect to the flow of air. The main body is also formed with an attachment hole in fluid communication with both the vacuum pathway and the blower pathway. The attachment hole supports the nozzle rotatable between a vacuum mode orientation and a blower mode orientation. In the vacuum mode orientation, the pathway of the nozzle is in fluid communication with the vacuum pathway. In the blower mode orientation, the pathway of the nozzle is in fluid communication with the blower pathway.
With this configuration, the air blower/vacuum can be switched between its vacuum mode and its blower mode by merely rotating the nozzle around its central axis. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate mode switching unit. For this reason, fewer components are required to produce the air blower/vacuum so that production costs can be decreased. Also, the air blower/vacuum can be easily produced in a compact shape.